Mohali, Nov. 30 -- A Mohali court has sentenced a Punjab Police assistant sub-inspector (ASI) to four-year rigorous imprisonment for demanding and accepting a Rs.50,000 bribe to release a murder accused in 2016. ASI Jaswinder Singh, who was serving as SHO of Kotbhai police station, Muktsar, when arrested in August 2016, was convicted under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. He was sentenced to three-year rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs.25,000 under Section 7 and four years with a fine of Rs.50,000 under Section 13 (2). Both sentences will run concurrently. The court acquitted co-accused head constables Kuldeep Singh and Ram Sarup. As per case files, the ASI had sought the bribe from one Jagga Singh to release his son Kuldeep Singh, arrested for the murder of Sukhpal Kaur. The cop initially demanded Rs.2.50 lakh, but later agreed to accept Rs. 50,000 to transfer Kuldeep from police custody to judicial custody. Acting on a complaint, the Vigilance Bureau had laid a trap on August 12, 2016, and arrested the ASI. A hand-wash test of the ASI turned pink, and the Forensic Science Laboratory report confirmed the presence of phenolphthalein on his hands, directly proving that he had accepted the bribe. Holding that corruption undermined public service and corroded the social fabric, the court awarded rigorous imprisonment to the cop....